About a year ago, there was a father's post of his drive along with his teenage son to the western part of Sichuan province. The son was suffering from altitude sickness, but the father did not know better. By the time they sought help at a local hospital, it was too late.

This was meant as a cautionary tale for travelers from the plains who are unaware of such risks. It did not carry a whiff of financial gain. But the hospital mentioned dutifully checked its record and found no such incident.

To date, I have no idea what the hoax was about. Maybe it was a novelist who forgot to state he was writing fiction.

In the age of internet, even a token gesture of giving 1 yuan or forwarding a post will require a certain familiarity with journalistic ethics of properly vetting and double-checking things. I just don't know whether this is a sad or glad turn for the public.

By the end of Dec 1, Luo, Tencent, the online platform where the fund was raised, and other relevant parties issued a statement that the money would be returned－every cent of it.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn